ArticleThe Lancet regional health. Western Pacific2022
Preferences of men who have sex with men for performing anal self-examination for the detection of anal syphilis in Australia: A discrete choice experiment.
Article in The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Evolving Landscape of Discrete Choice Experiments in Health Economics: A Systematic Review.PharmacoEconomics · 2025Pooled it
- Digital Anorectal Examination to Self-detect Primary Syphilis: A Prospective Cohort Study.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Impact and Cost-effectiveness of Regular Self-digital Anorectal Examination on Syphilis Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Mathematical Modeling Study.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Accuracy of the Self-Administered Rapid HIV Urine Test in a Real-World Setting and Individual Preferences for HIV Self-Testing - Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China, July 2020-February 2021.China CDC weekly · 2025Article
- Adherence to weekly anal self-examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilis.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRegular anal self-examination could potentially reduce syphilis transmission by detecting anal syphilis earlier among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study aimed to examine the preferences of MSM on performing anal self-examination to detect anal syphilis.
methodsAn online survey with a discrete choice experiment (DCE) was distributed to MSM attending a sexual health clinic and through social media in Australia between June and November 2020. The DCE examined the preferred attributes of anal self-examination that would encourage MSM to perform anal self-examination. Data were analysed using a random parameters logit (RPL) model.
findingsThe median age of 557 MSM who completed the survey was 35 (inter quartile range, 27-45). The choice to perform anal self-examination was most influenced by two attributes: the accuracy of anal self-examination to diagnose anal syphilis, and the frequency of anal self-examination, followed by the type of instruction materials to perform anal self-examination, waiting time for medical review, and type of support received if abnormalities were found. Using the most preferred attributes, 98% of people would conduct anal self-examination compared with 35% when the least preferred anal self-examination attributes were offered.
interpretationIf anal self-examination were recommended for anal syphilis screening, it will be important to consider preferences of MSM: men were more likely to undertake anal self-examination if the frequency was once a month and there was higher accuracy of detecting anal syphilis.
fundingAustralian National Health And Medical Research Council.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.